Saturday, April 03, 2010

Pietersen finally shows the IPL that he can bat

During Bangalore's ultimately successful run chase against Kings XI Punjab last night a surprising statistic was passed when Kevin Pietersen reached 38. Surprisingly, it beat his previous highest score in the IPL.

For someone who walks a fine line between confidence and arrogance with bat in hand that would have been a bit embarrassing. But in part thanks to an awful fielding display by Punjab, Pietersen was able to marshall the Bangalore chase with 66 not out of 44 balls. IPL fans how finally know what KP can do.

Punjab's fielding was so bad that if comprised of Pakistan players, they would probably be accused of match-fixing, heresy or harming the team. To see a team led by King Kumar lacking spirit is a sad sight, as was the disintegration of Brett Lee in the pivotal over of the match.

Although Pietersen and Virat Kohli had kept Bangalore in the hunt chasing down Punjab's 180 for 5, 48 were required off the last four overs. Step forward Robin Uthappa (how has he been left out of the Indian World T20 squad?) and another dose of blitzkrieg batting. Three massive sixes were followed by a horrible ball from Lee that went for five wides and suddenly the game had swung to Bangalore.

For Pietersen, and England for that matter, these are good signs. The old swagger has returned and England's best batsman could prove crucial in the World T20 and Ashes quests that await. KP's place in the pantheon could be there for the taking.

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